Cloth-cutting machine



vP. HOW'E.

GLoTH CUTTING MAGHINE.

Patented Dec'. 28, 1886.

uuuiulllmlllllul n* vll/02ml vll/1111105014 m y 4 i 'mi 5 L' .v y A n N. PETERS, Phvioljlhugrapher: Walhngioh, C.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICEJ PATEICK HOWE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSICNOR To I. EENNO, It. D. GOODWIN, AND O. M. BLAKE, OE SAME PLACE, AND A. K. TOLMAN,l OE NEWTON, AND H. c.Y IIAKTSIIOENE, OE WAKEEIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

CLOTH-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION farming part of Letters Patent No. 355,086, dated December 2a, 1886.

Application filed March 18, 1886. Serial No. 195,685. (No model. y

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, PATRICK HOWE, of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Cloth-Cut- 5 ting Machines, of which the following description, in connection with theV accompanying drawings, is aspeciiication, like letters on the drawings represent-ing like parts.

This invention relates to and is intended as" IO au improvement upon the class of cloth-cutting mechanism kshown in United States Patent No. 129,827, dated July 16, 1872, to which reference may be had, the present invention having for its object to simplify the I5 mechanism and increase its efiiciency. In this `my present invention I employ two jointed swinging arms, one of which carries the cloth-cutting devices, means .being provided for raising and lowering the said swinging arms, and also for adjusting them into a plane parallel with the surface of the table on which the cloth to be cut is laid. The rotary cut-ter employed is revolved by a system of rotating shafts and gearing, means being provided whereby the head carrying the rotary cutter may be revolved on an axis at right angles to the axis of the sh aft carrying the said rotary cutter. f

Other devices devised by me for materially improving the construction of the machine will be hereinafter more fully pointed out.

Figure l shows in side elevation a cloth-cutting machine embodying this invention, the table employed being partially broken away to more fully show the adjusting devices employed for raising and lowering the swinging arms; Fig. 2, a vertical section Of a portion of the machine, taken at the junction of the two swinging arms; Fig. 3, avertical section of the cloth-cutting tool and its carrier; Fig. 4, atop view of the cloth-cutting tool and its carrier shown in Fig. 3; and Fig. 5, a detail of the shoe, to be referred to.

The cloth to be cut will be laid, as usual, on artable, A, and to do accurate work the arms carrying the cloth-cutting device must be free to move horizontally in a plane parallel with relation to the top ofthe table.

The base-plate A3, located, preferably, upon 5o the floor, receives adjustingscrews A4, which arms C and F to be placed parallel to 'the ta- 6o v ble A. The arm C is preferably screwedinto the bracket B, which is free to swing or revolve about the said standard. l I

A coupling-piece, D, is screwed to the en d of the arm C opposite its connection,with the 65 l bracket B, the said coupling-piece having a socket which receives an arm, D2, projecting from an elbow coupling-piece, D, the other arm, D3,-of the said couplingpiece D extending at right angles to the arm D2, being tapped 7o to receive the tubular arm F, extending in a plane parallel with the arm C, the said arm,

by the connection described, being free to revolve upon or with relation to the arm C.

A band-pulley, E, is splined to aspindle, e, 7 5 having its bearing in the coupling-piece D', and supported by a hanged collar or cap, e', secured to the top of said elbow coupling-piece D', Said spindle carrying a bevel-gear, e, adjustably mounted thereon and held in xed 8o position by a check-nut, et, the coupling-piece D being hollowed out to thus form a box or chamber inwhich the gear revolves. The band-pulley E is rotated by a belt, a, passing around it and another belt-pulley, c', carried S5 by a shaft,a2, (see dotted lines,Fig. 1,)extended vertically through the upright or standard A', the said shaft a2 being rotated by a band, a?, on a pulley, at, the said pulley c* being located above the base-plate A*3 in any usual or suit- 9o able manner. The bevel-gear e3 meshes with a bevel-gear, b. located within the box or chamber formed in the elbow-coupling, said bevelgear being adj ustably fixed .to a shaft, b', extending longitudinally through the tubular l93 arm F. The opposite end OI" the arm F is connected with a head, F2, which carries the clothcutting devices, while the rod or shaft b', con-A tained therein, carries a bevel-geant?, Similar to the bevel-gear b, both ot" said bevel-gears Ioo having their bearings within the arm F, which receives the said tubular arm F. e

rlhe bevel-gear b2, revolving within the head F2, meshes with a bevel-gear, b3, adjustably iixed to'the rod orshaft b, extending vertically through a downwardly-projecting hub, F3, at right angles to the rod or shaft b', the opposite end of the rod or shaft b'l carrying a bevel-gear, bi, which in turn meshes with a bevel-gear, b", mounted upon the shaft c, carrying the rotary cutter c. The downwardlyextended hub receives upon it the head-block H, supporting the shaft c and the rotary eutter c', said head-block .having pins 2 to 2G, which enter a groove in the hub F2, to thus sustain but permit the head-block to rotate freely.

The head-block H, carrying the rotary cutter c, maybe rotated manually in either direction desired about au axis at right angles to the axis of the said rotary cutter `so long as the operator grasps the hand-piece d2 and keeps the dog f2 lifted. To do this the frame F2 is provided with a cap, d, having a'projection, d', to which is attached a hand-piece, d2.

The cap cl, at its lower end, has a series of gear-teeth, d3, which mesh with a pinion, d4, mounted upon a shaft, d5, having its bearings in suitable projections leading from the head F2, (see dotted lines, Fig. 3,) the opposite end of the said shaft d5 carrying apinion, (3,which meshes with the toothed periphery d2 of the head-block H. rIhe cap d is held in place upon and with its under side elevated from contact with the top of the head F2 by an annular bracket or shield, f, screwed to the said frame, the said shield forming part of a bearingrfor the cap. The top or crown of the head F2 is provided with ratchet-teeth f,which are engaged by a pivoted dog, f2, carried by the fulcrum-lever f3,pivoted to an upright, f4, said lever being turned on its pivot by a thumbpiece, fcontrolled by the spring f 6, seated in a recess in the top portion of the hand-piece d2.

When power is applied to thel machine, the band-pulley E is rotated, and, through thebevelgearing c, shaft b', the gearing b b2 b3, shaft b, and gearing b5 b, and the shaft c, the cutter c will be continuously rotated, and as the arms C and F are free to be swung about their pivots, and as the head H is also free to be rotated in either direction about the hub F3, as described,

' the cutter c may be made to follow along any straight or curved line desired. As the power is applied to the machine and the rotary cutter or disk is revolved, as described, were-it not for the ratchet-teeth f and engaging dog f2 the head-block H would also revolve continuously unless controlled by the hand-piece, and in instances where the operator is obliged to release the hand-piece to fix his work t-he automatically-operating dog is of especial advantage in preventing the rotation of the headblock, which, if permitted, would result dis- 5 astrousl y.

The head-block H is provided'with a projection, H', (see Fig. 4,) to which is adjustably attached a shoe, by means of" which the cloth is raised from the table. composed of a shank, 5,0, (see Fig. 5,) an ear or projection, H2, extending at right angles from the upper end of the shank, and a foot, H3, attached to the lower end of the shank or made' integral with it. The ear or projection H2 is slotted to receive a bolt, by which the shoe is adjustably attached to the projection I-I of the head,`to admit of vertical movement. Heretofore the shoe has been made from cast-brass and has had to be cut away 01 glOOved, leaving a U-shaped shank, within which the cutter revolved, the said U-shaped shank passing around one side of the cutter, thus serving as a shield; but such construction is very expensive, because the materialu had to be grooved at the shank to receive the cutter, and as it was not possible to use steel, the shoe had to be provided with a steel bottom plate. By adding the projection H to the head-block, to which the shoe herein described may be attached by a bolt passing through the slot cut in the ear or projection H2, I am enabled to dispense with the groove in the shank of the shoe and yet carry the.

shank suiiiciently far backward to serve as a shield for the cutter; and such form of shoe I am able to make very cheap entirely of steel.

The rotary cutter c is in this'instance com-` posed of a disk or plate of very thin steel, and two beveled or inclined rc-enforcing disks, 3l,are secured upon opposite sides thereof, to thus stiften the disk, the said beveled or inclined disk permitting the cutter to enter the material deeper than were the edges of the said disks as thick as their hubs. v

Herein it will be noticed that I employ but one belt above the table, instead of two, as in my former patent, the dispensing with ,the said' belt aiding materially to simplify the machine and facilitate a rapid and easy handling of the parts and a movement of the arm F, which directly supports the cutting mechanism.

The adjustable plate A2 is of especial advantage when the machinel is placed in. buildings having uneven floors, to cause theY arms F C to swing in a plane parallel with the top surface of the table. 4

It is obvious that in the machine herein described one or several swinging arms suitably jointed together may be substituted instead of two, as herein shown.

It is also obvious that, in lieu of the belt c employed, a system of shafts and gearing similar to that described for rotating the cutter may be employed directly connected with the main driving-shaft.

I claimv, l

1. In a cloth-cutting machine, one or more swinging arms, ahead-block and cutter carried by the arm, and a standard or upright carrying the said arms, combined with the vertically-adjustable plate to which the said upright is attached, substantially as described.

2. In a cloth-cutting machine, one or more This shoe is IOO IlO

swinging arms, a headbloclrand cutter carried by the arm, and the adjustable bracket to Which one of the said arms is connected, combined with the standard or upright upon which the said bracket revolves, and the cheeknut B2, to operate substantially as described.

3. In a clotlrcutting machine, a shaft, a r0- tary cutter thereon, and one or more swinging arms and the standard or upright for carrying the same, combined with the yshafts and gearing, substantially as described, turning Within the swinging arms, for rot-ating the said cutter, all as set forth.

4. In acloth-cutting machine, a swinging arm and cloth-cutting devices carried thereby, consisting. of a head and an independentlymovable head-block, the rotary cutter and its shaft, carried by said head-block and rotating about an axis at right anglesL to the axis of the said cutter, and automatic' means, substantially as described, for preventing rotation of the head-block, all substantially as described.

5. In a cloth-cutting machine, the arm F and attached head, combined with the independently-movable head-block and cutter carried by it, the cap d, and hand-piece and' gearing, substantially as described, for manually` rotating the said headblock, all as set forth;r

6. ln a cloth-cutting machine, the head F2, having ratchet-teethfz, the head-block H, carrying the shaft c and rotary cutter, and means, substantially as described, fori-etating the shaft @,the cap d, and hand-piece for rotating the cap, and gearing, substantially as the ear or projection H2, and the foot'H'said shoe being attached directly to the projection H, to thereby serve as a shield for the cutter, all as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PATRICK HOWE.

W'ituesses: n

B. J. Novus, i F. CUTTER. 

